The Eisen Dragoons
by Legendary-Titan
Summary: A new evil shall rise...and a prophecy shall be fulfilled... Hold the phone! A new team is entering the world of zoid battles? And their sponser is Dr. Layon! Look out Blitz team, there's going to be some hell to pay! Up for adoption if any one wants it
1. what is lost, is found

**ZOIDS:**

**Eisen Dragoons**

This is my first fic so go easy on me

Disclaimer: I don't own zoids; otherwise it would still be on the air!

Chapter 1: What's lost, is found

Living out in the desert is, at most, a boring and lonely life; but for Scorpio Cortez, he was never alone. He always had his mothers' journal with him. The journal of Rachael Cortez would have been a holy grail of scientific knowledge had any one other than Scorpio found it. Scorpio knew that if his mothers' journal fell into the wrong hands, it would spell disaster for Zi. Neatly placed between the pages of the journal were the schematics for many weapons, armor, ECM, cooling and shield systems; all of which were highly advanced. The deadliest of these was a weapon system that his mother had said would "…make the Charged Particle Cannon look like nothing more than a pea-shooter." That weapon was the Ion Cannon.

His mother had devoted twelve different blueprints to the incredibly complex components that made up the cannon. The last two, numbers 13 and 14, showed ways the cannon could be implemented. The first showed how it could be mounted and fired from orbit on a judge satellite, but the second showed, with a few modifications, how the cannon could be mounted onto a zoid chassis.

Over half of the blueprints in her journal were part of a single, master, blueprint. The blue print was of a zoid that his mother had called the "Dark Spiner." What Scorpio wanted to do more than any thing else was to create that zoid. He really didn't know why, but he wanted to be the pilot for that zoid. He wanted to be the greatest zoid pilot ever. He knew that sounded cliché, but the truth was that he really wanted to do it.

Scorpio closed his mothers' journal. '_That's enough reminiscing about the past_' he thought. He opened his duffel bag and placed the journal in a spot where, if someone tried to steal it, they would make a lot of noise doing so. He sealed the main zipper and pulled a newspaper out of one of the side pockets. He sighed; the paper was three days old.

"Well," he said "better to read it now rather than never, right girl?"

The 'girl' he was referring to was an organoid, and her name was Succubus. You could consider her a look-alike to Specula, except while Specula was blue with yellow eyes, Succubus was black with blue eyes. And instead of having the jets like Specula, Ambient and Zeke, Succubus had wings like Shadow, making her appear very dragon-like. She was lying on her front with her short, stubby arms to her sides and her legs and tail drawn out behind her. She didn't move; instead she let out a snort to show that she really didn't care.

"Just seeing if you were awake girl." Succubus merely snorted again. Scorpio returned to his paper, not really reading it word for word, but just getting the main idea, important names and what not like: **Backdraft Busted for Good…** **Vega Team receiving official pardon from ZBC for any involvement with the Backdraft…** **Blitz team achieving Class S through Victory at Royal Cup…** **Dr. Layon being injured and his Great Wale King destroyed during Genosaurers attack on the Berserk Fury…** Scorpio paused for a moment.

'_Dr. Layon'_ he thought, '_that name sounds familiar._'

Scorpio gave himself a headache trying to remember where he heard Dr. Layons name before it finally clicked. His mother had mentioned his name once in passing, and when Scorpio had pushed her for details on who that was, Rachael had been, at best, elusive with her answers. It usually wasn't very hard for him to remember things; he had an amazing photographic memory. Scorpio flipped to the front page of the paper and found Dr. Layons photo. Dr. Layons appearance could at best be described as odd; his head was slightly egg-shaped and was covered in messy black hair.

'_Just like mine_' Scorpio thought. Unlike his mother, who had perfectly straight blond hair, his was like Dr. Layons. That is to say very short, very messy, and the darkest black you could imagine. Dr. Layons face was a different matter, for the expressions he wore seemed to say that he knew something that you didn't, and his grin said that he was pleased with this. Scorpio also noted Dr. Layons thick stocky build; which seemed to be the exact opposite of Scorpio, his physique was more like his mothers, that is to say powerful with well toned muscles.

He remembered one person saying that he had the perfect form for a zoid warrior. Only problem was, in order to become a zoid warrior, he needed a zoid; but he only wanted to pilot the zoid his mother had designed. Scorpio turned back to the article. '…_Designed the Neo-Warshark, worked on the Berserk Fury's armor system, and was the creator of the Shadow Fox…_' he thought as he continued to read. By the time he had finished the article, his mind had been made up; he would find Dr. Layon and get him to create the Dark Spiner.

Scorpio put the newspaper back in the side pocket and took out two folded papers, his blood and DNA test results. Scorpio had also decided that if his mother had known Layon, then he might know who his father was. He made sure everything was secured in his duffle bag before he looped the strap over his shoulder. From what he read, Dr. Layon was being treated for charged particle burns at the general hospital in Neon City, which just happened to be the city Scorpio was headed to next.

"Come on Succubus, if we're going to make it to Neon City before night fall, then we'll have to start walking."

When Scorpio looked over, he found that Succubus was already up and had her wings extended. Scorpio was skeptical at best, it wasn't that he didn't enjoy flying; it was that their first flight ended in a crash. He shrugged his shoulders. Since they had been walking all week, flying, despite its bad memories, sounded like a good idea. Readjusting the strap so it was now across his chest, he checked to make sure that his CD player and tests were secure before fishing a light-blue bandanna from his left pocket. He tied it around his head so that it kept his hair out of his eyes and kept his headphones secure while he was flying. Making sure every thing was secured and hitting the play button on the CD player, he hoped onto Succubus's back. With a terrific roar, they were off into the early morning sky. Scorpio couldn't describe how it felt to fly peacefully. The last time they had flow together, they had been trying to get away from some wacko in a Sand Stingray. Their flight ended when they both face-planted themselves into a sand dune. '_Well,_' he thought '_at least we got rid of that nut job._'

Succubus purred, signaling him to turn up the volume on his CD player. Scorpio knew why she wanted him to do that, for their favorite song was about to play, and how Succubus knew it was coming on. Succubus, like Specula and Ambient, had a unique ability. While Ambient could mutate zoids, and Specula could bring out their full potential, Succubus's ability was ultra-unique. She could control and channel massive electrical currents through her body and could sense what was happening in any electrical circuits that were near her body, like Scorpio's CD player.

As the song came on, there were no words, just a steady rhythm. Suddenly, just as the short rhythm ended, some one hit the electric guitars. Scorpio smiled, the first time they heard a sample of the song, both of them felt one thing: aggression. The song focused, channeled, and gave off pure aggression. When the 30 second sample had finished, Scorpio felt as though he could take on the entire ZBC in nothing more that a Molga. He asked Succubus if they should get it and she agreed. That same day they purchased Papa Roach's _Getting Away with Murder_.

Succubus started flying lower and faster as the lyrics began to play…

_Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness  
I need to calculate  
what creates my own madness  
and I'm addicted to your punishment  
and you're the master  
and I am waiting for disaster_

At this point Succubus shot upwards at a steep angle. In truth, Succubus wasn't truly listening to the song; rather, her brain was interpreting the electrical signals that were traveling to Scorpios headphones as sound. Succubus decided that now was the time to perform a few stunts that she had wanted to do for a long time.

_I feel irrational  
So confrontational  
To tell the truth I am  
getting away with murder  
it isn't possible  
to ever tell the truth_

_But the reality is I'm getting away with murder  
(Getting away, Getting away, Getting away)_

Scorpio lost count of the number of times that they dived, turned, barrel-rolled, did loop-de-loops and corkscrews while still making good time to Neon City. Succubus was enjoying herself and so was Scorpio.

_I drink my drink and I don't even want to  
I think my thoughts when I don't even need to  
I never look back cause I don't even want to  
and I don't need to  
because I'm getting away with murder _

I feel irrational  
So confrontational  
To tell the truth I am  
getting away with murder  
it isn't possible  
to ever tell the truth

_But the reality is I'm getting away with murder  
(Getting away, Getting away, Getting away)_

Five minuets later, they landed in Neon City. As soon Scorpio jumped off of Succubus, he took off his bandana and head phones while Succubus folded her wings down into her usual wing stubs.

"You really know how to start a party, don't ya girl?" Succubus purred in agreement.

It was still early morning so there weren't many people out, but those that were out gave him odd looks when he landed. Scorpio ignored them, for, when one has an organoid, odd looks come with it. The general hospital was easy to find thanks in part to the signs and the fact Succubus landed near it. When they got inside, the hospital looked like what they expected a hospital to look like; white tile floor, white walls and fluorescent lights. Except for the head nurse, there was nobody else around. First thing was first, since his info was three weeks old, he had to make sure that Dr. Layon was still being treated there.

When Scorpio walked up to the front desk he discovered that the head nurse was either completely bored out of her mind or in some sort of trance. She was looking at the computer screen with half-closed eyes, while idly tapping at the keyboard. Scorpio decided to break her out of her revive. He cleared his throat and she quickly returned to reality.

"Sorry, must've been daydreaming there, what can I do for you?

Scorpio smiled, now that there was something to do in this boring town, the head nurse seemed a little to eager to do something.

"Yes, I'm here to see Dr. Layon. The paper said he was being treated here for charged particle burns."

"Yep, he's here," Scorpio let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding, "but I can't let you see him unless you are a friend of his, a family member, part of the media or ZBC."

"I'm a friend." he replied.

The nurse continued to type on the keyboard, not really caring if Scorpio was telling the truth or not. After a few minuets, the head nurse got up.

"OK, just…follow…me…" He knew what caused her to suddenly go quiet and stand perfectly still, that reason was Succubus staring at her. Tapping the nurse on the shoulder, he said "It's ok, she's with me and she won't harm anybody." This seemed to lessen the nurses' fear, though as they walked through the labyrinthine of halls, she continued to look over her shoulder just to make sure Succubus wasn't about to attack her.

Scorpio could tell that they had arrived at Dr. Layons room because on either side of the door there was a ZBC guard. Scorpio remembered that the newspaper said that in exchange for not confiscating his lab, zoids, and getting no jail time, Dr. Layon would tell the ZBC the names of the major contributors of the backdraft and its hidden supply depots. The remnants of the backdraft now considered him a traitor and were now trying to get back at him. Fortunately, the guards look bored so they wouldn't mind if an organoid walked into the room.

Scorpio was about to go into the room when the nurse stopped him, "hold it kid, rules are rules." The nurse walked over to the guards and told them something that Scorpio couldn't hear, but the effect of whatever she said could be seen immediately. Both of the guards' faces lit up like children on Christmas Day, before they both suddenly ran down the hall toward the entrance to the hospital. They both yelled a 'Woo-hoo!' as they rounded the corner.

Scorpio was confused, what did the nurse say to get those guards to leave so suddenly?

"What did you say to them?" he asked

"I told them it was their break time."

He smiled and said 'thanks' before heading into the room. The room was a standard hospital room, that is, that there were two beds, one next to the window and the other next to the bathroom. Dr. Layon looked very out of place in the room; he had apparently refused to take off his black over coat, purple under-shirt, and red tie. Dr. Layon was too absorbed in eating his cup of chicken noodle soup to notice Scorpio taking a seat on the right of his bed, nor did he notice Succubus on the left side of his bed sniffing at the cup of soup in his hand.

"Excuse me, Dr. Layon?" Scorpio asked, trying to get his attention.

Dr. Layon tipped his head back and drained the remains of the soup in one gulp. As he moved to put his cup on the table next to his bed, which held five other soup cups, he froze as a look of shock and awe grew in his face. Shock because a large, dragon-like creature was sniffing his hand and awe because he realized that it was an organoid; a rare creature not seen for hundreds of years, since the days of Van Flyheight the Hero.

"Uhh, Dr. Layon?" Scorpio's second attempt to get Layon's attention was successful as Dr. Layon realized Scorpio was there.

"Oh, sorry, I was…" Dr. Layon said as his eyes were drawn back to the organoid.

"Distracted by Succubus? Ya, she tends to do that."

"Succubus, that sure is an odd name for an organoid," Dr. Layon replied, his attention now diverted fully to Scorpio.

"Then again, people say my name is as odd as hers."

Dr. Layon suddenly realized how rude he was being. He didn't even know the kids' name.

"Sorry, you didn't come here to listen to me talk about your organoid, and I don't even know your name, let's start off on the right foot for once, my name is Dr. Layon" he said as he held out his hand. Scorpio took his hand and shook it. Dr. Layon was surprised at the boys' incredibly firm grip.

"My name's Scorpio, Scorpio Cortez."

'_Could it be…?_' Layon began to think until Scorpio started to speak again.

"My mother was Rachael Cortez."

At that moment, Dr. Layons face lit up. '_Rachael, I knew it!_' he thought. Unfortunately, Dr. Layon didn't catch the 'was'.

"Well I'll be darned, how is that old viper anyway?" Dr. Layon realized he said something wrong when he saw Scorpio's shoulders droop.

"You didn't hear, did you?" Dr. Layon merely gave Scorpio a confused look while thinking 'OK, was there something I missed?'

"My mother she," Scorpio paused and took a deep breath, for this was very hard for him to say, "She died, eight years ago."

Scorpio's words hit him like a sledge hammer. He was so shocked that he only managed to chock out one word, "How?"

"It was a lab accident, I was there when it happened, and I was ten years old at the time." This further shocked Layon. "I didn't actually see her die; I remember that my mom was going to open the pod Succubus was in without the other scientists. It was the weekend; the other scientists only came on the weekdays. I remember that I kept asking her what was in the pod until she said it was a surprise."

Scorpio simply and slowly shook his head. Layon was surprised the Scorpio was able to tell him this much without breaking down and crying. '_He must've come to terms about her passing away_.'

"After she told me that," he continued, "I hid behind one of the machines in the lab, usually, when mom said she had a surprise for me, we played a little game of hide-and-seek before I could find out what the surprise was. I remember hiding there with my favorite book when I heard my mom activate the pod, but, then something happened," again he shook his head, "I heard what sounded like a machine powering up, then was an explosion, I remember hitting my head and blacking out, but my memory's pretty blurry and spotty after I woke up, I can recall seeing Succubus standing in the middle of the lab, swaying as though she was sick and," Scorpio paused, for this truly was the most painful memory of all, "my mom was standing right next to the pod when it exploded."

At this point, Dr. Layon put his hand on Scorpio's shoulder.

"You don't need to go on Scorpio; I realize how painful it is for you." Scorpio smiled, he was already starting to like Dr. Layon. What happened next surprised both of them. Dr. Layon had just taken his hand of Scorpio's shoulder when he felt something heavy be placed in his lap. He looked down and found that Scorpio's organoid, Succubus, had placed her head in his lap and that she was purring like a cat.

Scorpio's left eyebrow arched, "odd, she normally doesn't do that. To put it bluntly, she isn't friendly with strangers."

Dr. Layon carefully placed his hand behind the crest on her head and was rewarded by her purring just a bit louder. '_She must be comfortable_' thought Layon. Scorpio unzipped his bag and started digging in it.

"The reason I came here is that I'm going to compete in zoid battles, and in order to do that, well, I need a Zoid.

Layon smiled "I'm sorry to inform you Scorpio, but I no longer have the shadow fox."

"I didn't want the Shadow Fox." Scorpio had found what he was looking for, and from what Layon could see it was a folder and Rachael's journal. As Scorpio started to flip through its pages, Layon remembered why it was Rachael's. Unlike most diaries, which had very ordinary markings on the covers, the front cover of Rachael's was adorn with the crest of the Cortez family. The crest was of a dragon coiling counter-clockwise in a never ending circle. The dragon was red in color and showed no signs of arms or legs, just three large spines fanning off its head. Layon also noted that Scorpio had the crest tattooed on his right bicep.

"This is the zoid that I want to pilot" Scorpio was somewhere near the back of the journal when he pulled out a neatly folded blue print and handed it to Layon. When Dr. Layon designed the Shadow Fox, he probably only had about three extra blue prints detailing the very complex components. But this 'Dark Spiner' zoid had about 20 ultra-complex components from what Layon could tell and one of them was very familiar.

"Why that sly dog!" he said with the biggest grin on his face.

"What?" Scorpio was confused, why would Dr. Layon say something like that?

"Your mother has integrated an invention that we worked on into this zoid." Scorpio looked at the part that Layon was pointing to; it was simply labeled 'Ion Array'

"That is short for the 'Ion Control Array', it was the one invention that your mother needed our help on, trust me that thing was a bitch to figure out." Dr. Layons face still had that grin plastered all over it.

"I have absolutely no doubt that this zoid would give the Shadow Fox a run for its money."

"So now the only question is will you help me create the Dark Spiner and sponsor me so we can see which one's the stronger zoid?" Dr. Layon looked Scorpio square in the eye, for this just too good to pass up, he only had one question.

"Are you a good zoid pilot?"

Scorpio almost looked insulted "Good? I passed the Empires' elite piloting test with flying colors, so I'm better than good."

With that, Dr. Layon held out his hand and said "Then you got yourself a deal, Scorpio." They shook hands, and Scorpio handed Layon the folder he had pulled out of his bag.

"This has all the forms in it; I've filled out the team name, symbol and what not so you don't have to." When Layon opened the folder he was pleasantly surprised. In the box for the team symbol was the Cortez family crest, and over top of it, written in elegant cursive writing, was the words 'Eisen Dragoons'. Dr. Layon continued to peruse the forms until he arrived at the warrior application form, here Scorpio had to fill out info on his parents. The info on his mother was filled out all right, but the space for his father's info was completely blank.

"Hey, Scorpio, what happened to your father?" he asked. Scorpio shrugged his shoulders.

"My mom said that he couldn't come with her to the Empire because he was doing research here in Europa."

"Did your mother say anything else about him?"

Scorpio thought for a moment before nodding his head. "Yes she did say something else about him; she said that he was the only man to ever touch her." Dr. Layon felt his skin grow cold; he knew what Scorpio meant by 'touch her'. '_But could it be, I mean sure he looks like a younger, slimed-down, egg-head-less version of me, but she said that there was no harm done…_' Dr. Layon stopped thinking, jumping to conclusions wasn't going to help, finding proof would.

"Scorpio, did you have your DNA tested at any time?"

"Ya, I actually have the test right here." Scorpio said as he handed the test to Dr. Layon. Layon hit the 'call nurse' button on the side of his bed, a minuet later the head nurse walked in.

"Did you need something Dr. Layon?"

Layon handed her Scorpio's test. "Could you please compare my DNA that you have on file against Scorpio's here?"

"Sure thing Dr. Layon" and with that, the nurse left to complete her new assignment.

Scorpio was confused to say the least. 'Why on Zi would Dr. Layon have our DNA compared?' Succubus had moved her head from Layon's lap and was now sound asleep on the unused bed next to the window. She looked so calm and peaceful, while Dr. Layon looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. Scorpio suddenly figured out what was making Layon so nervous.

"Dr. Layon is there something you're not telling me?" questioned Scorpio. 'Damm he's fast, just like Rachael, well better to get this over with' thought Layon. He took a moment to compose himself before, after taking a deep breath, once again looked Scorpio in the eye.

"The reason I'm having the nurse do that is I believe that I may be that man your mother was talking about." He took another deep breath and diverted his gaze away form Scorpio. "It was the day before your mother was to leave for the empire, when we finally completed the Ion Control Array, trust me, it was the most challenging thing we had ever done. We were all so happy to get the thing over with that we all decided to get some drinks, unfortunately a 'couple' for me turned into about a half-dozen shots of Champ's whisky." He sighed, and Scorpio could feel a lot of guilt coming from Layon.

"When I woke up and realized what I had done, to put it in laymen's terms, I felt like dirt." Dr. Layon paused, one could see the guilt on his face, and he sighed.

"Your mother was so beautiful and so innocent, and for me to take that away from her…" again, Dr. Layon stopped, and shook his head. "When I tried to apologize, she said that there was no harm done, and what happened was what she wanted to have happen. That morning, she left for the Empire. And, as you can tell, I never saw nor heard from her again." After that, Dr. Layon stopped, for the head nurse walked into the room with what had to be the dumbest grin on her face.

"Well, Dr. Layon, the results came back and I wanted to congratulate you, it appears that Scorpio here is your son." and with that she walked back out of the room after handing the results to Layon.

Dr. Layon was stunned, one thought ran through his head, '_Scorpio is my son?_'

Before Dr. Layon could say any thing, he felt Scorpio wrap his arms around him and whisper in his ear "You don't know how long I've been looking for you." before resting his head on Layons' shoulder. Immediately, thoughts began to zip through his head, '_He's been looking for me, his father, this whole time? And all this time I've been either trying to get revenge on Toros for that simple mistake of Oscars, thank god he told me about it, or doting on Leena when I had a son that needed his father more than anything else in the world. This is a second chance for me, and I'm not going to mess it up_.'

"Scorpio," he began, determined to set things right and struggling to keep the tears back, "could you forgive me for not being there?" As Scorpio pulled back, Dr. Layon could see to tear streaks on his face, as well as the smile he wore.

"There's no need to ask for forgiveness, when I forgave you so long ago." Replied Scorpio, who wasn't even bothering to hold back the tears. At that moment, Dr. Layon felt happier than he ever felt before.

"Excuse me, Dr. Layon?" it was the nurse "ZBC News is here to do their final interview, should I tell them to come back later?"

"No send them in; I'm sure that they'll enjoy this new development."

* * *

Wow, man that took a while to finish!

Thanks to Dragon-Raptor for beta-reading this for me!

Now, R&R!


	2. Reactions and Dreams

**ZOIDS:**

**Eisen Dragoons**

Thank you to those who reviewed me

Kylea- (First Reviewer) I am usually like that, but don't worry; as more chapter are posted, my writing skill improves!

Sanctum101- That's a typo, I got it stuck in my head that it was spelled with two n's; it's the actual Dark Spiner zoid, but in this fic, it's going to be uber powerful!

Chapter 2: Reaction and Dreams

"Hurry up dad, it's about to start!"

"Come on Doc, hurry it would ya!"

"I KNOW I KNOW! Just give me a moment, Jamie, dinner can wait."

"But Doc…"

"No 'buts' Jamie, lets move before Leena goes postal and kills Bit or something" And with that, Doc bounded out of the kitchen cradling his new Dark Horn model.

Jamie sighed, it was useless trying to argue with Doc, not that he wouldn't listen but when he had a new model, he was in another world altogether. He sighed again as he set the pot to a low simmer. As he walked out of the kitchen, Jamie paused at a wall mounted mirror, and smiled. Each and every day, he began to look more and more like his dad, or as Doc had put it, the wild eagle. With each passing day, he also felt more confident about what he was doing as well as making him just that much better at zoid battles.

"COME ON JAMIE!"

Of course there were things that never changed as well, like Leena's temper. Rather than tempt fate, Jamie ran for the living room. As he entered the living room he vaulted over the couch, landing next to his dad, Oscar Hemeros. As the couch stopped bouncing from his rather abrupt landing, Jamie took a look around. Bit was back; apparently he only needed two weeks of vacation to wait for the media feeding frenzy to die down.

Doc was sitting in between Leena and Bit, whilst playing with his model of course. Brad was sitting at one end of the couch, looking very satisfied with himself - apparently he had just gotten off the phone with Naomi - while Jamie and Oscar were sitting on the other end of the couch. Everybody became quiet as ZBC News came on. Jamie grinned, for despite the similar name, this ZBC stood for Zi Broadcasting Company, not the Zoid Battle Commission as everybody though.

Leena had insisted that everybody watch the interviews. Jamie didn't know why, but he thought that Leena wanted to see more of her 'crazy Uncle Layon.' Brad got up to turn off the lights so everybody could see the TV better, while Bit passed around a bowl of popcorn. As the anchor came on for their final report, Leena turned up the volume.

"…And finally tonight, we leave you with our final, and rather amazing, interview with Dr. Layon." The scene changed to Layon's room at the hospital, a reporter was talking with Dr. Layon. The interview was obviously taped as the conversation they were having was barley audible, and the reporters' disembodied voice came over the background.

"When we arrived for our final interview, we were expecting the usual parting words and closing comments, what we didn't expect was that Dr. Layon had made a rather amazing discovery."

Doc Toros stopped playing with his model, all he had heard was 'Dr. Layon' and 'Discovery', but that was enough to get his attention. The scene changed, this time just focusing on Dr. Layon, who had apparently been crying. As Layon wiped his eyes with his sleeve, everyone in the Blitz team base was silent, for what Layon was about to say would shock them beyond belief.

"I have a son."

There was a thud as the bowl of popcorn was dropped and a crunch as the dark horn model landed in the popcorn. Everyone was stunned speechless, except Leena.

"SAY WHAT!" As if reading her mind, the reporter went on.

"You heard right people, Dr. Layon discovered that he had a long lost son only minutes before our arrival," the camera had once again switched scenes, this time to Dr. Layon talking to some one off screen. As the reporter began to speak again, the camera pulled back, reveling a very fit looking young man with messy, black hair, almost identical to Layon.

"Young Scorpio Cortez, only heir to the renowned Cortez family line, and only child of the late Rachael Cortez, is Dr. Layons son." The camera _again_ switched scenes, this time focusing on Scorpio.

"I was surprised to say the least, I mean; I came in here to get Dr. Layon to help me create a zoid so I could compete in zoid battles, I never expected to discover that my father would be that same man." Scorpio suddenly stopped as a low growl came from off screen. The cameraman suddenly swore and brought the camera around to the right.

To Doc, what he saw on the TV was the most amazing thing in the world. It was seven feet tall, was black with blue eyes, and very dragon-like. Scorpios voice came from off-screen.

"Easy there Succubus, they're not going to hurt us or anything." As he said this, there was a genital 'clink, clink' as Succubus tapped her nose against the camera lens. Satisfied that the camera wasn't going to cause any harm, she walked over to the side of Layons' bed and rested her head in his lap.

"Just so you know, her name is Succubus, yes she is an organoid and she has been with me ever since my mother died."

The Blitz team sat in silence for the rest of the interview. At the end of the interview however, they received a rather nasty shock as the reporter came back on.

"Apparently, Scorpio and Dr. Layon are starting their own team as well, the "Eisen Dragoons", and because of Scorpio, the ZBC has added new rules governing the use of organoids in official battles that is all for ZBC News, good evening and good night everyone!"

For a while every thing was dark and quiet as the TV was turned off and everybody sat in the dark; that is until Brad turned the lights back on. Everybody, except Bit and Doc, had a freaked out look on their faces.

"OK, so I'm not the only one who finds this just a little too weird to be true?" asked Brad as he regained some of his composure.

"Man, an organoid, I can't believe it," said Bit, who just sat there with a dazed look on his face, until he suddenly punched his fist in the air and yelled "I just can't wait to fight him!"

Hearing this Jamie finally returned to his senses.

"Sorry to get you down Bit," said Jamie, "but since he's going to be on a new team, he's going to be at the very bottom rank. He'll have to be at least class B for you to challenge him to battle mode 0992 and our whole team won't be able to challenge his team until they're is at least class A, and even if he does make it to those ranks, since we're ranked class S, _he_ would have the choice to accept or not."

Bit's ego looked as though someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. In fact he looked as droopy as Doc looked; only standing up instead of sitting down.

Leena sighed, "Thanks a lot 'Wild Eagle', now Bit's going to have that depressed look on all day now"

Jamie grinned, "It's almost dinner time, so you won't have to put up with it for very long, and after that it'd be 'bout time to hit the sack."

"I, for one, agree with Bit." This surprised every one, not just because someone was agreeing with Bit, but also because it was Brad who was talking.

"You probably didn't listen to the whole report, did you?" Jamie shook his head, after hearing about the organoid; he was a little too stunned to listen.

"Well, just to recap what they said, Scorpio has the empires highest score on the elite piloting test, and he got that score when he was _seven years old!_ Now the kid's 18, so he's going to be much stronger, faster, smarter and tougher than when he took that test. Hell, he'll probably move up the ranks faster than Vega!"

"Don't be so sure Brad," It was Oscar who spoke this time, "If I've learned anything from experience, it's that your pilot test score doesn't exactly reflect you _actual_ piloting skill; for all we know, the kid might just freak out during his first battle or panic when he gets into a zoid for the first time." He turned to Doc, "What do you say Steve?"

Doc only mumbled something inaudible. The team leaned in closer, hoping to hear what. It was then Leena noticed her dad looked depressed as hell.

"Uh, Dad, what's eating you?"

Doc sighed and mumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear, "Why does Layon get an organoid?"

As everybody laughed themselves silly, Jamie thought '_typical Doc for ya._'

In the Neon city General hospital, Dr Layon turned off the TV. '_That ought to set Steve off his rocker_' he thought as he returned to his writing. After the news crew had left, Scorpio had allowed him to look at all Rachael's blue prints, and together, they had found a number of blue prints that they could put to good use. He glanced at the pile that they had deemed 'harmless', for these were the inventions that they were going to mass-produce. They were inventions that would help out zoids and their owners without spelling disaster to the world, like advance cooling systems, joint and leg reinforcement, fracture resistant display panels, heavy-duty stabilizers, compact sensor back-ups and overload inhibitors.

Layon chuckled, when they called ZOITEC industries he gave them the offer of being the only company to have access to the blue prints of advanced zoid parts if and only if they gave him 90 of the profits they would make off of the parts. The CEO had been on the verge of hanging up on him until Layon told him that the parts were designed by Rachael, then the CEO agreed to his terms so quickly that Layon had barley caught him saying 'yes'.

Dr. Layon looked at the blueprint that he was working on. Using some of Rachael's inventions, he had decided to make a new zoid transport. He called it the 'Dragoons Nest', it was going to be a lobster type land and sea based transport capable of hold a good dozen or so zoids, maybe more if they were Zabat sized. The major components that Rachael had contributed were called 'pressure resistant armor' and 'Ultra-heavy duty hydraulics,' and it was because of these that it would be able to go on land and sea. The armor would allow it to survive over 3000 meter depths, while the hydraulics (which formed the eight massive legs on the transport) would allow it to pull its massive size around and tackle any land-based obstacle.

The most unique equipment on board the Dragoons Nest was held within its antenna. Packed with sensor and communication equipment, the Dragoons Nest would be able to punch through any ECM and be able to give them a clear view of anything within a radius of a hundred miles. Dr. Layon smiled, for Rachael wasn't the only one contributing parts and inventions to the Dragoons Nest. Dr. Layon was going to design the aquatic turbines so it would be able to move in the water, and the seals that would allow the transports claws to be able to function as their own escape pods/mini transports.

Dr. Layon put his pencil down, for his hand was starting to ach, and this was a sure sign that he had been writing for far too long. As he folded up the blue print for the Dragoon Nest, he sighed; with the ZOITEC deal, they now had the funds necessary to create the Dark Spiner, but according to Rachael's journal, they would still need one last 'ingredient,' a Genosaurer. He remembered the passage that dealt with why they needed the Genosaurer "… of all he zoids that I have researched, the closest match for the body and zoid core structure is the Genosaurer and Spinosapper, the Genosaurer for the size and strength and the Spinosapper for the type, spinosaurus. In order to prevent the Dark Spiner from rejecting the core, it will have to be an 'open' core. In other words, we will have to clone the Genosaurers' core due to its massive power output…"

Layon groaned; cloning a zoid was one thing, cloning a zoid core was a whole different ballpark. When one cloned a zoid's body and core together, it would come out identical to the zoid the sample was taken from. But when one cloned a zoid core, the cloned core would become 'open,' that is it would have no pulse. A zoid core is like a human heart, it had a pulse, but instead of pumping out blood, it pumped out energy. An open zoid core wouldn't release a pulse of energy, but rather a constant stream of energy.

An experiment that Layon remembered doing in the academy was planting a Molga zoid core into a command wolf, the result was the core would refuse to give off its pulse and the command wolf would refuse to accept any energy the core gave off, thus, both the core and zoid rejected each other. But when they put an open zoid core in the command wolf, the core accepted the command wolf and started giving out the steady stream of energy, despite the fact that the zoid refused to accept the energy.

But if the zoid accepts the core, then the core and zoid might develop a pulse and the zoid and its' core would be in perfect sync. Layon sighed; Rachael always had to do things the hard way. Layon looked to his left and smiled, If Scorpio learned anything while he was in the desert, it was how to sleep in the most uncomfortable places. Scorpio was curled up in one of the hospital chairs sound asleep, and as Layon watched, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

'_He must be having that_ "dream" _again_' thought Layon. Scorpio had told Layon about an odd 'dream' he stared having three days after his mother died, and from Layon could figure, it probably wasn't a dream. Layon stiffened a huge yawn, it was late, and after a full day of excitement, he was tired. One last thought ran through his mind before he finally fell asleep '_This has been one hell of a day._'

Scientifically, Scorpio was asleep, but to him, he as was awake as he could be. He knew where he was, the endless desert, the full moons, the crystal clear night sky, they were all part of the dream world in which he first meet her. Scorpio was lying on his back, just looking at the stars, thinking about what happened recently, when he heard her speak.

"Well, that was an exciting day now was it?"

He rolled his head to the left and looked at Sasha who, in his option, was the most beautiful girl in the world. She was looking at him with her beautiful blue-green eyes, which Scorpio positive that she inherited from her mother. When he first saw her, he thought that he was looking at the blue devil herself, except that she had Raven's hair color and Zi marking. He had asked her and she had confirmed his belief in that she was the daughter of the maverick Raven and Reese the blue devil.

Her figure was lean, yet powerful, like her mother, and she wore a black flight suite with blue highlights, that in Scorpio's option made her look even more attractive. Her hair was cut it the style Reese had hers cut, but the color was a mirror image of her fathers. Scorpio also thought the Zi marking that she had also inherited from her father, a small red dot and a number 7 on her right cheek just below her eye, made her look all the better.

Scorpio smiled, nodded his head, and closed his eyes, so many things happening in that one day than what ever happened in his whole life. He felt her press her lips against his in a short, but sweet kiss. He opened his eyes and looked straight into hers as he said "Exciting? More like amazing."

Since she was lying sideways, she was able to rest her head on his chest and still look into his eyes.

"Well, at lest you got everything that you wanted to done" she replied

His smile turned into a grin, "Everything, but get you out of Succubus."

Like all organoids, Succubus was capable of holding a person inside of her chest cavity, thus protecting them, as she was doing with Sasha. What Sasha had explained to him was that before the Great Calamity, or as it was more commonly known, the Meteor Holocaust, her parents had Dr. D figure out how to store her in Succubus, while still being able to put Succubus in a stasis pod without the unwanted memory loss. The only way for Succubus to release Sasha was for someone to say a three word phrase to Succubus in order to deactivate a chip that was attached to Sasha's flight suite which prevented Succubus from opening and closing her chest cavity at will. Scorpio had tried, but he hadn't found what the phrase was, the only clue that Sasha could give him before the chip would break her psychic connection was 'it is said often between two people, but some times doesn't need to be said at all.'

He was glad that Sasha was even able to psychically connect with him. Apparently, when Succubus woke up, Sasha mentally woke up while her body was still in stasis. She would see what Succubus saw, and thus was up to date on all that happened during the day and it was because of Succubus that she was able to connect to him. According to Sasha, outside of Succubus, she could only read what people were thinking. There was also a recent development that they were both quite found of; it was the fact that they were both in love with each other. She had admitted how she had feelings, now that he had, in her words, 'become an amazing young man.' Scorpio had also told her that he had the same feelings for her as well, generally feeling attracted to her in every way.

Scorpio diverted his eyes back to his love, and said "And I won't stop trying until I get you out of there."

Sasha smiled, she knew that Scorpio would keep his word, slowly she dissolved their connection, not that she wanted to, but Scorpio needed to sleep and Succubus would get cranky from her staying connected to long. As Sasha dissolved the connection, Scorpio had time for one last thought before he finally slipped into the realm of dreams, '_God I love that girl._'

-LT- (slumping back in his chair) Man that took awhile! Don't worry people, there's going to be some action in the next chapter and thanks to those who reviewed me, I love you all!

Now R&R or else!


	3. Rising Evil

**ZOIDS:**

**Eisen Dragoons**

Reviews:

Kylea- thank you, again as the story continues, my writing improves

DR- trust me she's a fire cracker

Kicker 123- Ya, I noticed that there not that many fics that include Layon, but in mine he will take a leading role!

Chapter 3: Rising Evil

The commissioner frowned, 'it just doesn't add up!' he thought. He had decided that he would personally go through the Backdrafts financial records and double check what his investigators had found. Even before the Backdraft fought with Blitz team, they were diverting massive amounts of funds to a project known only as 'RO' or 'Red October'. He had cross-referenced this 'Red October' against everything, and only came up with two positive matches; both of them dated back to the nest of humanity, Earth, and the details were sketchy, at best. One was a historical reference; the other was the name of a movie.

"I guess I'll have to have a little talk with the count about this" he said, he got up from his seat in the ultrasaurus's bridge and paused. He didn't know weather it was gut feeling, human instinct or what, but when ever he looked at the words 'Red October' he got a feeling of dread, and it made him very uneasy. He decided to sleep on in and have a little 'talk' with the count in the morning.

* * *

Inside his jail cell, the infamous Count Umbra, the feared Count of the Backdraft, was smiling. He wasn't smiling because he was wearing the orange jumpsuit that came with prison, but he was smiling because had the perfect plan for the fall of the ZBC. He reached under his pillow and found a small rectangular object that he was looking for. He pulled out a very simple cellphone and thought 'I'll have to give them a bonus for being ahead of schedule.' He typed in a number and turned down the volume, he wanted to contact them without being heard by the guards.

As the count put the phone to his ear, he didn't hear and ring tones, just a steady beeping as the connection was establish. There was a click as the receiver picked up on the other end, but before the count could speak, a voice came over the other line "I was wondering when you would call, Count."

Umbra scowled, he recognized the voice as belonging to the smart AI known only as Anubis, and knowing that this AI liked to play games made him much more of a problem.

"I don't have time to play games Anubis. Did your 'master' receive the shipment?"

"Yes we did" Anubis replied, in an almost business like manner, " two extra-large resurrection chambers, one medium chamber, 500 Diloforce, 250 Grounchar, 1000 Demantis and another thousand Maccurtis, 200 Saber Loin, 300 Guntiger, and last but not least 20 Rev Raptor, all the units are unmanned, each one has a remote control unit worked into the cockpits. And thank you for the local judge launch and retrieval unit, it will be very useful."

The counts face returned to its former smile, now for the plan…

"To quote my master 'what did we ever do to deserve this?'"

The count was shocked, "What!"

"My master told you that he needed _rare, powerful_ zoids, not these, cheap, mass-produced scrap heaps!"

"Now you listen here, Anubis, I gave your 'master' all his funding up till now, thus I make the directions for project 'Red October'. If I pull my funding, then his half-finished ship won't be able to take off without blowing up!" he smiled, 'that should shut him up.'

Unfortunately, it didn't and the count could almost hear Anubis grinning on the other end of the line. What the AI said next caused shockwaves of terror to course through the count.

"Project Red October has already been completed."

The count was having trouble finding his words "W-When?"

Anubis sneered "When do you think?"

The count groaned; he had been informed via privet e-mail that the project was going to be completed on schedule, that being October the first. Seeing this, he lowered the amount of funds so the project could be completed when he saw fit, despite the fact that even when lowered, the amount he was sending over was still a very large number.

"W-where a-are you?" the count stuttered, afraid of the answer.

"We are currently at an altitude of 30,000 feet above Europa, heading for the ZBC headquarters to retrieve a few zoids that should have been given to us. My master's plans have been set in motion and nothing can stop him. The backdraft belongs to us now."

The count heard no more, for the phone had slipped form his hand; clattering to the floor. 'My god,' he thought, 'what have I done?' He didn't hear the phone emit a crackling sound as it self-destructed, for the mighty count of the backdraft was weeping. He had given a mad man the power to annihilate the world as they know it.

* * *

On board the _Devastator_, Anubis processed the electronic equivalent of a smile. He had been going through the systems of the ship, learning of its ins and outs, and had become very pleased. And it was hard to please an AI, and a Smart AI at that. He paused for a moment and sifted through his data banks, like a human, Anubis could forget things. He grinned as he found the file on the different types of AIs.

The terms 'smart' and 'dumb' when applied to AIs was misleading, while all AIs were incredibly intelligent, 'dumb' AIs lacked creativity. 'Smart' AIs had creativity, but this would cause them to form endless feedback loops in their programming, thus a 'smart' AI would have a lifespan of only seven years. But Anubis was the next generation of 'smart' AI. He could think creatively and like a human, but at the speed of a computer, and he didn't form feedback loops, thus he had no limit on his lifespan.

In the bridge of the _Devastator_, a holo-projector flickered to life, displaying Anubis's holographic form. He was named after, and took the form of the Egyptian jackal-headed god of death. As he looked around the sparsely populated bridge he noticed his master wasn't sitting in the commanders' chair as he usually did. Anubis frowned; this was very unlike him. He usually was in the bridge to over see the beginning of an operation.

Anubis activated the ships internal sensors and quickly located his master, who was, surprisingly in the zoid hangar. 'Of all the places, why there?' he thought as he transferred his electronic presence were his master was.

His master was standing on the closest catwalk to the forward deployment ramp; the zoids they received from the count lay out before him. The first row was made up of the Rev Raptors, which could take more damage than any other zoid the count had sent them; next was a column of Saber lions and Guntigers, the weakest of the zoids. Next there was the Diloforce, then the Demantis and Maccurtis and finally the Grounchar.

As Anubis's holographic form appeared standing on the railing, he opened his mouth to speak when his master cut him off. His tone was calm, almost as if his mind were somewhere else.

"Not now, Anubis."

The AI shut his mouth; he knew better than to try to speak, for his masters' word was law. As his master began to speak, Anubis gave him his full attention.

"How long until we reach the target?"

Anubis put his hand to his chin; in reality this meant that he was running through the calculations. Usually, Anubis would give his answer as soon as he had the answer, which was usually in a nanosecond, but when his master was the one asking, he double and triple checked his answers. Finding the answers satisfactory, he replied.

"We shall arrive at the target site just in time to deploy the units; I will then open fire with the main guns in order to clear a path for our three 'thieves' to get the two zoids onto the _Devastator_ and out of harms way. Which makes me question why we need _three_ warriors to steal _two_ zoids, master."

His master turned to face Anubis, and he finally realized why one of his warriors had said merely looking in his eyes could invoke your deepest, darkest, fear. His master had the creepiest blue eyes Anubis had ever seen, for his master rarely looked at him right in the eye. As Anubis watched, his masters' eyes began to soften, something that he had only seen once in his life when he was created. This meant that his master was excited about something. As his maser began to speak, he once again gave him his full attention.

"Then prep a third set of scaffolding gantries, 'cause another zoid will be joining us soon, and delay our arrival by about two minutes." And with that Anubis's master walked off, a grin on his face. Anubis was stunned, but refused to let it stop him from executing the new orders with the speed and precision that only an AI could achieve.

* * *

'_Be swift, be silent, use the shadows_' the man thought as he watched the ZBC guard pass his hiding place. With the assistance of the sound suppressing gear and personal cloaking device, he could penetrate deeper into a ZBC facility than even the best-trained spec. ops agent ever could. '_The ZBC trained me,_' the man thought, '_but they tried to betray me, and NOBODY betrays Red X!_' The guard passed him again, and this time Red X struck. As he did, he deactivated his stealth gear, revealing his appearance. He wore a skintight black outfit with a large red X emblazoned over the heart; the low end of the upward stroke extended to cross the chest. Gray belt and gloves, the latter with X's on the backs of the hands adorn his waist and hands. A black mask whose face resembles a white skull, with another red X on the forehead; its upstroke was extended, like the one on the chest, to cross the right eye, covered his face. The voice changer in his mask would heavily distort his voice. A long black cape hung from his shoulders, the under side was gray in color; the bottom edge of the cape looked torn, as though X had one too many close calls.

When he reached his victim, he gave the guard a powerful Judo chop to the back of his neck, efficiently knocking him out. Red X caught the guard and his gun before they could hit the ground and make noise. After disposing of the weapon, and looting the poor guards' wallet, Red X hog tied him and tossed him into a broom closet with three other guards that had shared his fate. As he locked the door, he heard a guard that his 'partner' was supposed to eliminate, yell "Freeze, you big oaf, drop your weapons and put your hands behind your head!"

As Red X ran in the direction of the shout, not even bothering to activate his stealth gear, he sighed. His partner Korgoth, aka 'silent warrior', knew as little about stealth as he did about manners. As he was about to round the corner, he heard Korgoth yell.

"HA! Like you could threaten me, you pint sized son-of-a-bitch!"

As he rounded the corner, he took the entire situation in at a glance. The guard had his back to X, while Korgoth was standing in the middle of the hallway, his hands on his hips, using his large mass to prevent anyone from getting through the hall. Korgoth had the physique of a large bear and a deep voice to go with it. Red X wasn't sure, but he believed that Korgoth was descended for the tribe of Russia only known as 'Cossacks.'

Before Korgoth or the guard could react, Red X lased out and delivered a rock hard punch to the back of the guard's head. The guard collapsed onto the floor out cold. When Red X looked up at Korgoth, he could have laughed. The look on his face was priceless!

"Now why did you have to go and ruin my fun, X?" he grumbled, his shoulders drooping.

Though Korgoth didn't see it because of his mask, Red X rolled his eyes. '_Of all the people, _he_ has to be the leader of a feared fanatical group._'

"You know what master said, no body count." He said, his voice distorted, yet still showed Red X's teenage youth. "And besides, you'd make a bloody mess of him" he said as he looted the guards wallet, after which he tossed his prone body into an abandoned room. When he looked back at Korgoth, Red X noticed he was grinning.

"Now what are you so happy about?" He asked.

"Nothing, just starring at the freak in the tights"

Red X felt his blood begin to boil. '_Oh, so now he's going to go on about that now is he?_' It was a well known fact that Korgoth thought that the suit Red X wore was down right hilarious, and he made that known to just about everybody on ship.

"Look, Korgoth, would you just _shut-up_ until we reach the objective and then you can make all the jokes about me you can, you muscle-bound bimbo!" This only caused Korgoth to roll with laughter.

"That coming from a guy called 'Monroe'!" Korgoth replied once he stopped laughing.

Three more guards and about a dozen more jokes later, that ranged from the mild to the obscene, the odd duo arrived at their 'objective', the ZBC zoid hangar 'I', or impound. Korgoth, seeing the door to the hangar, stopped cracking jokes and spoke with the tone of a commander, instead of that of a joke-loving buffoon.

"So, you think we should wait for Jason?" he asked.

Red X sighed, "You know how Chief Butz hates being called by his real name. Call him 'Red Baron', then he's happy and he won't get on our cases!"

Korgoth smiled, every warrior had his or her nickname. His was silent warrior because, while most pilots hurl insults at one another in the thick of battle, he rarely spoke during combat. Red X was Adam Monroe's nickname, and he refused to be called by anything else. Chief Butz, real name Jason Butz, was better known as the Red Baron because there was no one who could best him in the sky and in high-speed attacks on the ground. Their master didn't need a nickname like the rest of them; he merely went by his first name.

As they approached the door they heard three reports from a powerful handgun. Both Red X and Korgoth froze. They both looked at each other then back at the door. Korgoth was the first to speak.

"How the hell did he do that?"

"He couldn't have gotten by us, and this is the only way in or out of the hangar," replied Red X, who had a confused look on his face, hidden behind the mask.

Korgoth decide that enough was enough and kicked down the door to reveal their sneaky friend. He was leaning against the leg of a zoid, all decked out in his usual attire, that being that he was dressed like a Nazi officer from the hat right down to the shiny boots. He had just holstered his large caliber pistol when he looked up at his late arrivals. His short cut brown hair was only slightly sticking out from under his hat, while his blue eyes were framed by his slim glasses.

"What took you so long?"

Korgoth didn't answer; instead he fired off his own question.

"How the hell did you get in here?"

Red X decided not to talk, he would rather find out how the Baron got into the hangar without detection. Looking around he could see the three unfortunate guards to suffer the Baron's wrath. He remembered that their master had told them no body count until they reached the hangar. '_Well now that we're here, I guess it's OK_' he thought with a grin.

"How'd I get in? Simple, I had Anubis wire a transfer of a zoid that was being held in hangar 1 to the impound hangar, then I the hid in the cockpit of the zoid while it was being transferred."

Red X looked up from a control panel he was fiddling with.

"What Zoid did you use?"

The Baron smiled and pointed over his left shoulder

"That one."

Red X looked off to his right and felt his jaw drop. The zoid he was looking at was a quadruped, its body was a deep forest green, the gyro caps on the zoid were somewhere between bright, light blue and teal. The fangs, teeth, claws, and blades were off-white, almost ivory colored. Its charcoal colored armor was punctuated by streaks of neon green, with the yellow cockpit adding to the effect. It was a zoid that Red X thought he would never see again after he was betrayed.

"My liger…" he whispered, before breaking into a run. When the ZBC sent him on his first mission to deal with bandits in southern Europa, they refused to let him use his Forest and Night Flight Blade Liger; instead they gave him a gunsniper. He managed to take care of the bandits while only loosing the left ear of the gunsniper. But when he got back to the ZBC HQ they refused to accept his access code, saying that the person he claimed to be died in action three days ago, hence the betrayal.

Climbing into the cockpit, he did a system check and found that everything was all right. Red X activated the speaker and yelled at his partners.

"Come on guys, let's get the goods and bust our way out of here!"

Korgoth smiled, the 'goods' as Red X put it was in fact the two operational Genosaurers that attacked the Berserk Fury during the royal cup tournament. Climbing into the Genosaurers cockpit Korgoth could see that the ZBC eggheads had tried to lock out the command systems. '_Smart_,' he thought, '_but totally futile_.'

As the Barons' Genosaurer powered up, he glanced to the right and sighed. While two of the Genosaurers got away with only minor damage, the third Genosaurer took a major hit from the Fury's CPC. Its guns had melted under the intense heat, and its body and armor where a total mess. Thankfully the core and battle computer were undamaged. With the amount of damage it had incurred though, it would take it decades for the zoid to heal itself.

As the large black and purple zoid finished powering up, the Red Baron pulled the zoid around to face the Hangar doors. He smiled as Korgoth pulled his Genosaurer besides him, each footfall shaking the hangar itself. The Genosaurer wasn't only one of the most feared fighting machines; to him, it was also a work of art. Red X's Blade liger pulled up in-between the Genosaurers and opened a comm channel.

"So are you going to blast the doors down with the CPC?" X asked, grinning from ear to ear. The Baron noticed that Red X had removed his mask, revealing his blood red hair, dull green eyes and pale skin. When the baron replied, his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"And have the hangar come down around our ears? No, we'll just have to do it the old fashion way." X's smile only got bigger.

Korgoth butted in, "That's the way I do things!"

Immediately, both Genosaurers leveled their 120mm back mounted pulse laser cannons and their forehead mounted 40mm pulse laser guns at the hangar doors while X rotated the blades of his liger forward to bring the repeater guns to bear and aimed the chest mounted pulse cannons at the door dead center. All three zoids opened fire at once, within minutes; the doors were about ready to buckle. Red X was about to say something when a voice came over the comm system shouting a single, two-word phrase.

"Get back!"

The warriors didn't need any more prompting, for Red X's liger leaped back while the Red Baron and Silent Warrior put their Genosaurers' hover jets into full reverse. Seconds later, the hangar doors vanished in cloud of smoke and derbies. The voice once again came over the comm channels.

"We have arrived!"

Before the smoke could clear, X's liger charged out of the hangar, followed closely by the two Genosaurers. Out side of the hangar, there was total chaos, half of the facility had been razed to the ground and unmanned zoids ran to and fro attacking the ZBC zoids with unnerving precision. Two Spinosappers noticed the escaping liger and Genosaurers and moved to bloke their path. They were the first to feel Red X's wrath as he cut their zoids heads off with his blade ligers laser blades. As the Spinosappers collapsed, the liger and Genosaurers continued to their intended destination, the _Devastator_.

Red X grinned, the first time he saw _Devastator_, he had mentioned that it looked like a super sized Backdraft Whale King, and he had been partly correct. The _Devastator_ was a new type of whale king known as the Ultimate Whale King. Red X was surprised when he discovered exactly how large _Devastator_ was; she was three times lager than a normal Whale King, easily bigger than an Ultrasaurus. In fact, her main guns were the same 360mm cannons carried by the Ultrasaurus, but instead of carrying four, she carried six; four up front, two on the back along the spine, and each gun had its own turret. The turrets on the sides of the _Devastator_ were capable of rotating 360 degrees around, while the guns themselves could be elevated until they were perpendicular to the _Devastator's_ hull, thus it could dish out withering firepower in any direction. But even if some one was able to get by the main guns, they would then have to deal with the 4000+ laser cannon batteries. He wasn't sure what weapon was concealed beneath the translucent orange nose, but he was sure it was powerful.

Even air-bound opponents were no threat to the _Devastator_, for the large triple barreled weapon stationed below the bridge was replaced with three super sized missile batteries, each battery held more missiles than the Liger Zero Panzer. But _Devastator_ didn't only excel in the offensive arena; her defensive capabilities were top of the line and state of the art as well. While not visible to the naked eye, the _Devastator_ was surrounded by a powerful energy shield that didn't need to be lowered in order for her to fire, only when zoids were either boarding or leaving did the shield need to be lowered. But the part of the _Devastator_ that Red X liked the most was her cloaking device. When active, _Devastator_ was invisible not only to the naked eye, but to all know sensor types as well.

As the Blade Liger and Genosaurers approached, the shield around the ships forward ramp was disabled and the ramp lowered. Neither the Liger nor the Genosaurers slowed down as they boarded the ship. As long as the ships shields were disabled and she was on the ground, she was vulnerable. The moment they hit the ramp though, the _Devastator_ began lifting off and started closing the main ramp. Once the ramp had closed, _Devastator's_ shield reformed around the vessel.

Inside the _Devastator_, Red X could see the zoids that weren't sent into combat, those being the Barons, Silent Warriors, and his gunsniper. The first zoids he past were a Triple S and a Lightning Saix, it was easy to tell that they were the Baron's because of their paint job. The Triple S wasn't a stealthy black color, instead it was a bright crimson, and the Saix had a red streak running down its forehead. Korgoth's zoid, as Red X put it, was over gunned and over customized.

Both spaces for Korgoth's zoids were taken up by his one zoid, that zoid was his command Elephander. It was equipped with the shield/sword unit on the end of its trunk, giving it amazing offense/defensive capabilities; the dorsal guns were replaced with an Assault Gattling unit, making any attempt to attack it from the air futile. But the most interesting thing about the Elephander was mounted on its sides.

On either side of a normal Elephander, there were large vents that allowed the Elephander to stay cool even in the desert, but on Korgoth's, the large vents were replaced by numerous smaller vents scattered around the Elephander. In place of the large vents were thick support pylons, each pylon held a massive gun that flanked the sides of the Elephander, the back of the guns lining up with the Elephanders rear with the guns muzzles extending just a few inches past the tips of the Elephanders tusks. To the casual observer, they were nothing more than very big guns, but the trained eye could see what they were, medium ranged buster cannons, giving the Elephander a devastating punch at long range.

Red X pulled his blade liger along side his gunsniper, the only sine of damage being its missing left ear. As Red X shut down his zoid and opened the cockpit, he made a mental note to thank Anubis for putting up the gantries for his liger as he put his mask back on. He jumped out off his liger to make a perfect three point landing in between the zoids feet, as he looked up he shiver and said "Damn I hate those things."

Occupying the majority of the _Devastator's_ main hangar was a battalion of BattleMechs, or as most liked calling them, just 'Mechs. The 'Mech that was the closest to Red X was the Atlas, its blazing red eyes were what creeped him out the most, to him it made the 'Mech look positively pissed. The Atlases left arm was currently in pieces; according to his master, they were enhancing the 'Mechs capabilities by integrating zoid parts into them.

As he diverted his eyes away from the 'Mech he heard a slow clapping coming from above him. He looked up and froze, for standing on a small lift that was slowly traveling downwards from above the mech was his master, Nemesis. His master was of medium height, being only 5' 7 ½", but commanded respect with his piercing gaze from his blue eyes. His white skin contrasted sharply against the black clothes that he always wore. His shot cut dirty-blond hair and close cut, neatly trimmed beard and mustache also added to his aura of power. As the lift reach the main floor, Nemesis grinned as he stepped off.

"Well done by all of you, your performance has exceeded even my expectations, and with these Genosaurers, we can let the ZBC know why we are feared." His grin turned evil as Korgoth, the Baron, and Red X watched.

"Soon they will learn to fear the Backdrafts best; soon everyone will fear the dreaded Team Destoroyah!"

* * *

Authors note: Team Destoroyah was name after one of Godzilla's deadliest enemies, fitting for the deadliest warriors of the backdraft.

Now R&R or else!


	4. Home and questions

**ZOIDS:**

**Eisen Dragoons: Home and Questions**

Reviews:

-DR- They may be slow; but their next to impossible to destroy. As for _Devastator_, think of her as a star destroyer as you will see in the next chapter.

Shadow Fox777- I gave the team that name after watching 'Godzilla vs. Destoroyah', which in my option, is the best Godzilla movie ever, you got to see it to believe it. As for Red X, I um, kinda 'borrowed' him (hears the sound of wild hammering on the inside of his closet). Red X was spooked by the Atlas, I mean, come on, wouldn't you be spooked if a towering, pissed off looking machine of destruction was starring down at you?

Chapter 4: 

Dr. Layon eased off the gas, not because he thought he was speeding, but because he wanted Scorpio to see the scenery of Mount Iselina. Having lived in the desert for ten years of his life, the change from barren, lifeless dunes to the beautiful life filled forests was drastic. He grinned as he watched Scorpio's head turn left and right trying to take in all of the sights at once. Even Succubus, who would usually be napping right about now, had her head up and was looking around. As far as Layon could tell, she was trying to catch sight of small animals that she would later chase for some fun.

He remembered when he first was deciding for the location for his lab, he had considered many places, and even went so far as to build a house out in the desert just to trap Leena in, but Mount Iselina was his real home, and were his lab was stationed. When he joined the Backdraft, they built their own base on the other side of the mountain and moved his personal over, but when the Backdraft fell, he made a quick call from the hospital to get his personal to move back to his lab before the ZBC raided the bd base. Hopefully, they weren't caught when the ZBC _did _raid the base.

Suddenly, two red, black and silver blurs crossed the path of the jeep. Dr. Layon hit the break so hard Scorpio and Succubus were nearly thrown from the jeep. When they were able recover their senses, they saw that the blurs were in fact two rev raptors, and the fact that they were staring down their gun barrels.

* * *

Commissioner Hancock of the ZBC impatiently drummed his fingers; he was sitting in one of the many questioning rooms used to, of course, question prisoners. When he had first woken up, he didn't get many details, just that their facility in Capital city had been attacked. As the day progressed, he got filled in on what happed; three zoid were stolen out of the impound hanger, half the facility razed to the ground, over a thousand small zoids were launched by what reports claimed to be a super sized whale king, and to top it all of, when the mysterious whale king activated some sort of cloaking tec and vanished, all of the zoids that it launched that weren't already knocked out all self-destructed. 

The door opened and the Count was escorted in by two, instead of the usual one, guards. The count almost looked funny in his orange jumpsuit and without his odd looking shades. As he was brought in, the Commissioner noticed that the count was avoiding his gaze at all costs by pretending that there was something incredibly interesting on his shoe. Hancock realized that the count knew about what happened.

After telling the guards to wait out side, the commissioner put his feat up on the table and waited; before he became commissioner, he was a master interrogator for the Republic, so he knew how to get the answers he needed. One minute passed, then five. The Count, who was already sweating and on the verge of breaking down, decided to speak.

"How many died, in the attack?" his voice was still shaky.

The commissioner's glare got harder, but he answered.

"Thirty nine men died, three of them were shot in the head, the rest died behind the controls of their zoids."

The Count lowered his head and muttered 'dear god.' The commissioner decided that now was the time to get the answers he needed.

"Count, I'm not here to fool around or to waste time, I need answers: first off, I want you to tell me everything you know about 'Red October', and second, since you seem to know about what happened last night, I need to know what the hell hit us."

What the count did next surprised him, for the count didn't look up but instead started _unscrewing_ the handle of his cane. As the count spoke, the commissioner could hear the fear in his voice.

"'Red October' and the 'thing' that attacked your facility, are one in the same."

The commissioner felt as though someone had thrown a buck of cold water in his face. 'That was Red October!' he thought. The count continued speaking.

"'Red October' was just the code name for the project's completion date, the vessels actual name is _Devastator_, all of the information on the ship and her crew, the one's who were responsible for the attack, is in this data rod."

The count had finished unscrewing the handle off of the cane and was in the process removing a 6-inch long silver rod from the shaft of his cane. The commissioner immediately recognized the data rod by its silver color, and the fact that they were very rare. Data rods weren't known for just being rare, but for the fact that they could hold hundreds of gigabytes of information.

"The password," the count said as he handed the rod to the commissioner, "is '_no return_'."

"Thank you count, that will be all" he replied as he pocketed the data rod "Guards?"

* * *

'_Rev Raptors!_' Scorpio thought. 

He had managed to catch a glimpse of them when they jumped out from behind the trees, and nearly smashed his head against the windshield when Layon slammed on the break. When Scorpio was able to make sense of things again, the Raptors had stopped only a few yards in front of the jeep, their guns point at point-blank range. Scorpio did admit that the pilots did know how to use their zoids properly.

Rev Raptors weren't very popular with many teams because they were weak and standard unit didn't come with any ranged weapons. Most lesser ranked teams didn't have a choice, weather it was that they were down on cash or what, which was why so many low ranked teams used Rev Raptors and Guysacks. But these pilots knew the ins and outs and all the little quirks of their Raptors. Scorpio had noticed that they had waited until the very last moment to pounce, thus putting them at the greatest advantage.

As Scorpio watched, one of the raptors lowered it guns and cocked its head to one side as its external speaker clicked on. The voice that came on over the speaker sounded confused.

"Dr. Layon, is that you?"

Dr. Layons face changed from pure terror to that amusement.

"Marcus, I should have known it was you!"

As Layon said this, both raptors lowered their guns and heads to allow their pilots out. The pilot of the Rev Raptor on the left, the first one to lower its guns, was of average height and had curly brown hair, while the second pilot had above average height, dull red hair that he had pulled into a pony tail, and an exceptionally large nose. As the pilots walked over, both Scorpio and Dr. Layon got out of the jeep to go meet them; Succubus decided to stay due to the fact that she had found an incredibly comfortable spot on the back seat that she would rather not give up just yet.

As the pilots came closer, Scorpio could see that the one called 'Marcus' was at least a head shorter than the other, as of yet unnamed, pilot. As soon as they were close enough, Dr. Layon pulled Marcus into one of his signature bear hugs.

"Good to see you again Marcus!"

Marcus didn't seem the least bit surprised when Layon did this. After Dr. Layon was done squeezing the life out of poor Marcus, he turned to the other man.

"Jurgis, good to see you're still around."

The man with the pony tails only response was a grin.

Marcus chuckled, "The only reason Jurgis is so happy is because he can't wait to get behind the controls of the Spinosapper we picked up from the hidden supply base you told us about."

Scorpio grinned and looked at Dr. Layon.

"Supply base? I thought that you were supposed to tell the ZBC about _all_ of the Backdrafts supply depots."

Dr. Layon returned the grin and replied "I knew that the depot I told them about didn't contain much, and the fact that we need that spinosapper in order to create your zoid and I knew this depot had one," he shrugged, "Besides, I consider the other zoids payment for the info on the Backdrafts sponsors that I gave the ZBC."

Scorpio shrugged his shoulders, he really couldn't argue with that, besides it was one less thing for them to worry about. But, like most of us, Scorpio couldn't help but be just a bit curious.

"Exactly how many, and what type of zoids, did you find in the depot?"

Marcus smiled, "Nothing dangerous if that's what you're thinking."

Jurgis thought differently, and he showed this by elbowing Marcus in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"We did find one powerful zoid in the hanger that we didn't expect to find, a Neo-warshark; but don't worry, we already registered the zoid with the ZBC as one of the zoids of the Eisen Dragoons."

Scorpio's left eyebrow arched.

"So I take it you two have been watching the news reports then?"

Marcus had managed to get air back in his lungs and spoke.

"Ya, that and the fact that I picked up your zoid gear that the ZBC dropped off at the post office."

As he spoke, he pulled the slightly-bigger-than-a-palm-pilot sized device out of his back pocket and tossed it to Scorpio. Without missing a beat, Scorpio caught the blue and silver device and brought it up to his eyes to take a closer look at it. The green screen on it was small, only four inches wide by two inches tall. The zoid gear's face was covered by sixteen buttons; ten were numbered from zero to nine, four were red, while the last two were black and had no markings on them. When he turned the gear over, he discovered that there was a belt clip installed in the zoid gear. 'Must be a new thing' he thought as he clipped it onto his right side.

Marcus opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off by a very annoyed sounding growl. Scorpio looked over his shoulder to see that Succubus had poked her head out of the jeep and that she didn't look too happy. She growled again and this time Scorpio was able to understand her.

_Can we _please_ get going 'cause it's very boring just sitting here listening to you talk._

Scorpio chuckled, Succubus wasn't known for being very patient, especially if they had somewhere to go.

"I think we should get going, Succubus is getting a bit edgy."

Both Jurgis and Marcus nodded and started walking back to their Rev Raptors as Scorpio and Dr. Layon returned to the jeep. Succubus was still sprawled out on the back seat when the got into the jeep. Scorpio sighed, Succubus wasn't only inpatient but very, very lazy. As Scorpio was about to fasten his seat belt, he heard Jurgis yell.

"Follow us, we found a short-cut that we think you guys will enjoy, and we'll slow down so we don't lose you."

As Scorpio thought, he realized why that was a good idea; Rev Raptors had a top speed of 210 km per hour, while the jeep could only reach 120 km per hour on flat ground. The Raptors started off at a slow trot, the jeep keeping pace about 20 feet behind them. As they drove on, Scorpio noticed that his eyes were being drawn to the raptors. It wasn't the first time he noticed this happening, he remembered as a little boy how he used to marvel at the zoids of the imperial army when ever they passed by. There was something fascinating about how they moved, mechanical, yet at the same time, natural. The Rev Raptors were the no different.

After a good half hour of driving, during which they passed some dirt trails which wound off into the forest and a grassy hill that sloped down to a crystal clear blue lake (Scorpio made a mental note that if he needed a place to relax, to fide that hill again) they finally arrived at their new home. Dr. Laon had explained how when he first started his lab, he discovered a small cave in the side of the mountain. He decided that instead of starting from scratch, the cave would be his starting point, and he would just dig his way from there. It turned out that the cave was a real help, until he needed to expand the lab in order to fit larger zoids in to experiment on.

As Scorpio stepped out of the jeep, he could see that the entrance could easily accommodate a Gojulas, with a little room to spare.

"So dad, the only question is where did you park your whale king when you got home?"

Dr. Layon chuckled, while both the Rev Raptors stop as both Jurgis and Marcus rolled with laughter.

"I didn't park the great whale king anywhere, when I got it, I moved all the equipment and personnel into the whale king. After I joined the Backdraft, I moved the equipment back into the lab, and after the Backdraft fell, I ordered my personnel back to my lab. Come on Scorpio, I think it's about time you got to know your new home."

As Scorpio, Succubus and Layon walked into the hangar, Marcus and Jurgis parked their Rev Raptors next to a line of zoids. The first zoid in the line was shorter than the rev raptor by about a meter when the raptors held their heads high. Its body was black while the legs, arms, head and tail were white. Its head was decorated by a single, short horn and an orange visor where the eyes should have been. But the most notable feature on the zoid was the massive, rectangular laser powered chainsaws on its back.

Scorpio could see why Jurgis wanted to pilot the Spinosapper instead of his rev raptor, not only was it superior in close ranged combat because of the saws, but it just looked cooler than the raptor. The zoid that sat to the left of the Spinosappers was the Neo-warshark. It looked odd out of water/sand since it was standing on its fins, but even then it still was sleek and powerful. Scorpio was pleased to see that Jurgis and Marcus had already painted the team symbol above its left fin.

A loud clanging sound drew Scorpios attention to the middle of the bay, where two maccurtis with large boxy things on their backs were engaged in some sort of arm wrestling contest with their larger claws. The one that was losing decided to even the odds by banging on the head of its opponent. Marcus, who had just excited his raptors cockpit, noticed the battle as well. His face contorted into a look of rage that would have scared even the Berserk Fury. He charged at the Maccurtis like a rampaging Gojulas, while screaming at the top of his lungs.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EGG-HEADED-ASS-HOLES THINK YOU'RE DOING! I SAID NO TOUCHING THE ZOIDS! NOW, BECAUSE OF YOU FUCK-TARDS, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND THREE GOOD HOURES OF MY TIME POUNDING OUT THE DENTS YOU MADE!"

Both Maccurtis stopped grappling with each other and looked at Marcus. Seeing that Marcus looked about ready to kill them both, the pilots decided not to risk fate. The Maccurtis started moving off to take their places in-between three Demantis and a Guysack. To say that Scorpio was surprised was an understatement; he didn't think that Marcus would be the one to suddenly go nuts like that. Dr. Layon chuckled when he saw the look on Scorpios face.

"Marcus, in addition to being a guard, also fixes the zoids and takes great pride in keeping them in perfect condition all the time."

'_Ah,_' thought Scorpio, '_that explains the little outburst there._' As the Maccurtis pulled into their spaces and shut down, Scorpio saw that the front of the boxy constructs on their backs looked like they had some sort of intake. As the maccurtis finished shutting down, the cockpits opened to reveal the trouble makers. The first one (the one with the dents on its head) was piloted by a man that seemed to be older than Dr. Layon. His hair was a smoky grey and seemed to be oiled back, while his face was lined with wrinkles. The other pilot was female, her frizzy brown hair and large, thick glasses framing her face. Both wore tan colored lab coats and kaicky pants, so it was easy to tell that they were both scientists.

Dr. Layon grinned as he, Scorpio and Succubus walked over to meet the trouble makers, now that both of the pilots were on the ground, one could see that the young lady was at least a foot shorter than her companion. Dr. Layon introduced them as Kelly Potter and Ryan Francis, and Scorpio was very pleased to hear that Ryan had worked with his mother.

"You've probably heard this a lot, but you have your mothers' eyes." He said.

Scorpio noticed that Succubus was poking around behind the first row of zoids. Since Dr. Layon was still talking with Kelly and Ryan, Scorpio decided to see what she was poking at. When Scorpio walked around Jurgis's Spinosapper, he saw row upon row of a zoid made infamous by the Backdraft. The Zabat, as it was known, was small, cheap to produce, and could be remotely piloted when needed. Scorpio could tell that there had to be at least fifty of the small flying zoid housed in the hanger.

"Ah, I see you found our 'stockpile'." In was Jurgis.

"Now why would you guys have all these Zabats here for?"

Jurgis merely shrugged as he went back to waxing 'his' Spinosapper.

"When Dr. Layon called us, he said to get _all _the zoids from that hanger to the lab. It just so happened that the majority of the zoids in that particular depot were Zabats."

Scorpio was about to answer back when he heard Dr. Layon yell his name. He turned around and discovered that not only was there another man standing next to Dr. Layon, but that Succubus was now standing over by Kelly while getting her crest petted. Scorpio sighed, not because Succubus was getting attention from other people, but the fact that she was _looking_ for attention.

As he walked over, he noticed that the third man was of Asian descent and, by the way he was holding him self, very nervous. Had the man not been hunched over, he would have been taller than Kelly, but not as tall as Ryan.

"Scorpio, I would like you to meet Professor Chang, my personal assistant during the time when Brad stole the Shadow Fox."

Scorpio noticed that Chang visibly cringed when Dr. Layon mentioned the name 'Brad'.

"Bad memories?" Scorpio asked.

Chang gave him a nervous smile and said "let's just say before he stole the zoid, he decided to use me as a punching bag."

Everybody, except Scorpio and Chang, laughed at Changs' misfortune. Dr. Layon gave Scorpio a slap to his back, one powerful enough to send Scorpio forward a few feet. He gave a small chuckle at what he did before talking to the scientists.

"Did you guys get the samples from the spinosapper as I asked?" He merely received a nod from Kelly and Ryan.

"And is the birthing chamber prepped as well?"

Chang motioned to the back of the lab and said "Everything is set up as you asked for back there."

As Scorpio looked in the direction that Chang pointed, he saw what appeared to be a large cylinder shaped construct in the very back of the lab, accompanied by three very large tanks and other machines attached to either side of the construct. Scorpio realized that the construct he was looking at was in fact the front of the zoid birthing chamber.

"OK, last question; did you get the scavengers to work?"

"The Maccurtis? Ya and they work like a charm." Kelly answered.

"What exactly are 'scavengers'?" Scorpio asked, as far as he knew, the Maccurtis wasn't commonly referred to as the 'scavenger'.

Dr. Layon pointed to the boxy constructs on the backs of the Maccurtis.

"Those are the scavengers" he explained, "the backdraft was tired of people like Bit making a profit off of the parts that they left on the battle field after an unsanctioned battle, so they developed the scavengers."

"At the end of a battle, these 'scavenger' type Maccurtis would submerge themselves in the sand and circle the battle site, slowly spiraling inward toward the center of the battle field. The devices will pick up parts that flow into them, yet at the same time tell the difference between the desired parts and unwanted rocks and rubble."

Dr. Layon suddenly shook his head, and then grinned. "There I go rambling on again and you probably only wanted the bare bones version of what I said. Come on; let me show you your room before I start talking in riddles!"

As they walked towards the right wall, Layon explained that the living quarters were in part connected to the birthing chamber. The top, or third, floor had a viewing window into the birthing chamber, some lab equipment, and a control center that was connected to the numerous security scanners around the mountain.

The second floor contained a living room, workout room, kitchen, briefing room, dinning room, entrainment room, and a medium sized indoor pool. When asked, Layon said that the pool and entrainment room were their so those who were doing research could relax and have some fun every once in a while.

"That's one of the things that I learned from your mother," he said, "was that no matter how concentrated one was with their research, that every once in a while they needed to get out and have some fun, other wise they would lose sense of what life was really like."

Finally, the first floor contained the bedrooms and an infirmary. Scorpio was a little surprised to learn that they had many unoccupied rooms, but pleased none the less; once he started competing, he would need team mates. It was a well-known fact that single zoid teams struggled up in the higher ranks. When Dr. Layon showed him his room, Scorpio found himself, once again, pleased with what he found.

His room wasn't too big nor was it too small, in Scorpios option; it was just the right size. His bed was pushed up against the right wall, while an extra mattress was laid out opposite that. In between the bed and mattress there was an empty book shelf that doubled as a night stand. The closet wasn't very big, but that was something Scorpio wasn't very concerned about. As Scorpio sat down on his bed, Succubus growled _comfy?_

Scorpio merely nodded and watched as Succubus walked onto the mattress on the floor, hopping on it three times to see if it was soft enough before lying down. Scorpio smiled before lying down on his bed. After all this time, not only did he finally have a father, but now, he finally had a home as well.

* * *

(Rubs his aching hands) sorry for the slow update, my typing still needs work. 

I am open to suggestions, but nothing that will radically change the story line.

Now R&R or I'll send HK-47 here (Points to crazed assassin droid) after you!


	5. Devastator

**ZOIDS:**

**Eisen Dragoons**

Chapter 5: _Devastator_

The Commissioner sighed. The only time he in what was unanimously called the 'debriefing room', which was in fact an auditorium deep inside the ZBC's command Ultrasaurus, was when they tried to make the Backdraft fight fair. Needless to say that didn't go over very well. Despite the fact that the Blitz team won, it had only proved that the Backdraft would do _anything_ to win. During that fight, all of his best officers had sat in the seats in the room and watched, as they were doing now.

Hancock waited until every one had settled down before flipping a small switch on the panel in front of him. The four doors at the back of the auditorium slammed shut and locked with four satisfying 'clicks'. He cleared his throat before talking.

"What you are about to see is classified information, you are not to discuss this outside of this room." On the screen behind him, the words "TOP SECRET: EYES ONLY" flashed on.

"Precisely one week ago, our facility in the capital city was attacked; as you know, half the facility was leveled, over a thousand enemy zoids engaged our forces, and a mysterious vanishing whale king was involved in the attack."

"The information that was acquired from the count not only details _what_ hit us but _whom_ as well." As the Commissioner spoke, the screen behind him changed. The words were replaced by four pictures of men from the shoulders up.

"These men are the ones responsible for the attack," as he spoke, the picture in the upper left hand corner expanded to fill the entire screen "This is their ring leader, known only as 'Nemesis', he is the master mind behind numerous assassination attempts on both the president and the emperor, and terrorist activity here in Europa. Other than that, we know very little about him."

The picture returned to its normal size and position on the screen as the picture in the upper right hand corner filled the screen.

"The next two appear to be Nemesis's right hand men; we have a little more info on them than we do Nemesis himself. This man, named Jason Butz, military rank Master Chief, is the self named 'Red Baron', is their air and high speed ground combat specialist. If the counts' sources are correct, he is in fact a genetically engineered super solider designed to endure higher G's than any normal human and he serves Nemesis unquestionable."

A new picture filled the screen.

"His second man, Korgoth, aka 'silent warrior', is their assault specialist. Along with Nemesis and Chief Butz, they make a deadly team, for Korgoth not only _has_ heavy firepower at his disposal, but he knows _how_ to use it as well. From what my sources tell us, he is the leader of a fanatical group calling themselves 'The Word of Blake' who are the ones who made the assassination attempts."

"The next person we have the most information on due to the fact that he used to work for us." As the Commissioner spoke, Korgoths' picture was replaced by that of a familiar masked face.

"Adam Monroe, aka Red X, used to be one of our elite agents until…" the Commissioner paused, for one of his officers had raised their hand.

"Yes Colonel Paris?"

"Sir, what zoids do they use?"

"I was going to get to that in a moment, so please hold all your questions until later." As the colonel sat down, the Commissioner continued.

"As I was saying, he was one of our elite agents until an information mishap caused us to believe that he had died. When he tried to report in he discovered our mishap and jumped to the conclusion that we sent him on a suicide mission just so we could get his zoid. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat and stealth techniques before going AWOL, and he is an excellent liger pilot."

The Commissioner paused to take a drink of water, it wasn't that he didn't like making long speeches; he did them all the time, it was because he was very nervous. Unlike his officers, he had read all of the data files on Nemesis. The man was not only a mastermind, but a master strategist as well, and if the count was correct, the man had an unhealthy fascination with the Genosaurer, so it was obvious what zoid Nemesis would pilot.

"We'll start with Red X, as I have told you; he is an excellent liger pilot." A new image flashed up on screen. "Along with the fact that he was piloting his blade liger along side the stolen Genosaurers, we can expect him to be using it in the fight."

The screenshot of Red X's Liger was replaced be one of a heavily modified, and very over gunned, Elephander. "Korgoths' zoid, as far as we know, started out as a command Elephander, until he heavily customized and modified it. We are unsure of the modifications, but it is clear from what you can see that he has replaced the dorsal cannons with an assault gattling unit and has added a medium ranged buster cannon to either side, giving this zoid a lethal amount of firepower."

"The Red Baron is the only member to use two zoids. For ground based combat, he employs a speed enhanced Lighting Saix, and for air combat, his preferred arena, he uses a red stealth type Storm Sworder. We are unsure if it is his personal skill, or if his zoid is modified, but so far he is undefeated in air-to-air combat."

The Commissioner sighed, now to tell them about Nemesis.

"Their leader, Nemesis, according to the counts sources, has what could be considered an unhealthy fascination with the Genosaurer, so it is no wonder why he stole the two Genosaurers, one to use in combat, and the other to keep as a trophy."

Yet again, the Commissioner sighed, to him this debriefing was taking more out of him than the Backdrafts attack during the Royal Cup tournament. He remembered when he first read the files; he went weak in the knees. Most of the information was beyond belief; the one thought that ran through his mind at the time was '_How could they create this monster?_', but now that he was over the shock, it was time to inform his officers.

"Now, the vessel that attacked the Capital city facility is unlike anything we have ever seen." As he spoke, the pictures vanished and were replaced by a large 3-D model of what appeared to be a super sized whale king.

"Name: _Devastator_, Type: Ultimate Whale King." He pressed a button on the control panel and a scale model of an Ultrasaurus appeared next to the model of the _Devastator_. Usually, a normal whale king wasn't bigger than an Ultrasaurus, but compared to _Devastator_, the Ultrasaurus seemed small. When it appeared, there was a chorus of gasps and double-takes, most of the officers couldn't believe _Devastators_ sheer size.

"Impossible! How could the Backdraft construct something so massive without our noticing it!" bellowed a young and upbeat officer that Commissioner Hancock had taken a particular disliking to. "Why didn't our satellites see this monster Commissioner!"

"Because she was constructed on the Eastern Continent, corporal," replied commissioner, his face showing no emotion. The corporal sat down thunder struck. The eastern continent was thought to be a wasteland, electromagnetic storms that circled the continent prevented zoids from getting close, only the heartiest of transports could fly their way through the storms. Even the judge satellites weren't immune to the effects of the storm. Whenever they pointed their cameras at the deranged landmass, all they got was electronic interference.

The commissioner cleared his throat and brought the officers out of their reverie. He could see the shocked looks on their faces, and he wasn't surprised. With its' armor and size, she could carry an entire army large enough to take on either Helic or Guylos. But that wasn't the worst of it.

"_Devastator_ is massive; she is a kilometer in length, and 240 meters tall." As he spoke, a model of the Death Saurer was overlaid on the hologram of the _Devastator_. It was surprising to see that not only did it fit comfortably, but with enough room to spare to fit a second Death Saurer right next to it.

"As of now, only two parts of the _Devastator_ remain unknown, a large portion beneath the skin, and the nose gun, which seems to run along the ships spine." The skin of the model pulled away, reviling a wireframe/blueprint type model. The aforementioned spaces flashed white to show the extent of the unknown area.

"Now on to what we do know; in order to power this massive craft, Nemesis had a very large and highly experimental plasma-based fusion reactor installed, it takes up the entire tail section and supplies massive amounts of power for _Devastator_." The other sections of the model stopped flashing as the tail section was highlighted to show the size of the reactor.

"The reactor powers many devices, including an extremely advanced cloaking device known only as a 'void-sig' and is capable of hiding _Devastator_ from even our most advanced sensors. Her reactor also feeds into an incredibly powerful energy shield that, until struck, is invisible. Its strength is unknown, but with the reactor power backing it up, it may be stronger than the shields on board the Ultrasaurus."

"Now on to her arsenal: due to her size, she carries as the main gun six of the 'Colossus' type 360 mm cannons carried on the Ultrasaurus. Each gun is mounted in a turret capable of rotating 360°, can elevate 90°, and the two guns mounted along the rear spine are capable of depressing 45°, giving her all around firepower. The only place the guns can't target is directly below the _Devastator_."

"The triple barreled gun that usually exists below the bridge it replaced with enough missile batteries to destroy three full whale kings worth of Zabats, making any attempt to attack from the air suicide."

The Commissioner paused to take a drink of water; his throat was getting dry from all the talking. He opened his mouth to speak when a sudden and frantic knocking at one of the auditorium doors was heard. Disabling the hologram projector and plucking the counts' data rod from its slot, he disabled the locks. As the door opened, a rather crazed looking lieutenant tumbled in.

"Commissioner Hancock, Ultrasaurus three has detected the unknown vessel sir! They're waiting for you in the bridge!"

The Commissioner was confused, '_they found _Devastator_? Nemesis wouldn't be that careless, unless…'_ the Commissioners face lost its color as the realization hit him like a bucket of cold water '_unless he wanted to be found!'_

Hancock barked "Dismissed!" to the officers before running out of the auditorium at a speed that would of put the lightning saix to shame. He literally punched the button for the command deck once he got in the lift. Known only to him and his officers, Ultrasaurus three was walking straight into a trap.

It was a well-known fact that the original Ultrasaurus that carried the Empires gravity gun was still out in the desert on the Dagen peninsula and the Ultrasauruses used by both the Republic and ZBC were in fact clones of the original and very expensive clones at that. The ZBC had ten Ultrasaurus, while the Republic had one and a recently resurrected Mad Thunder. It was also known that the facilities and equipment used to clone the Ultrasauruses were no longer available, so if they lost an Ultrasaurus, that was it, game over, they wouldn't be able to clone another one.

The commissioner impatiently taped his foot as the lift slowly crawled toward the bridge. '_Damn this elevator music!_' he thought as lift neared the bridge, for the singsong cheery music was driving him insane. The lift dinged as it reached the command deck and the doors opened.

Walking into the command center, he barked "Report!"

His second in command saluted before speaking. "Sir, Ultrasaurus three reported in the moment _Devastator_ appeared on her scanners, she's currently in range to use her missile batteries in addition to her guns. It's on screen sir and I have informed the commander to follow our orders to the letter."

Pleased with his seconds' quick response to this emergency, he sat down in his chair and watched the live feed from ultra-3. The display currently showed what was being seen from the camera mounted on ulta-3s nose, which just so happened to be the shimmering outline of _Devastator_.

"Any contact on the com channels?" the Commissioner asked

"They've been playing this one song on a loop sir, after a while it gets quite annoying."

"Let me hear."

With the flip of a switch, a very loud and (to the Commissioner) very familiar song came on over the speakers in the. The song was Trapts _Headstrong._

_Circling your, circling your, circling your head, _

_Contemplating everything you ever said_

_Now I see the truth, I got doubt_

_A different motive in your eyes and now I'm out_

_See you later_

_I see your fantasy, You want to make it a reality paved in gold_

_See inside, Inside of our heads (yeah)_

_Well now that's over_

_I see your motives inside, decisions to hide_

_**Back off I'll take you on**_

_**Headstrong to take on anyone**_

_**I know that you are wrong**_

_**Headstrong we're Headstrong**_

_**Back off I'll take you on**_

_**Headstrong to take on anyone**_

_**I know that you are wrong and this is not where you belong**_

_**I can't give everything away**_

_**I won't give everything away**_

_Conclusions manifest, your first impressions got to be your very best_

_I see you're full of shit, and that's alright_

_That's how you play, I guess you'll get through every night_

_Well now that's over_

_I see your fantasy, you want to make it a reality paved in gold_

_See inside, inside of our heads (yeah) Well now that's over_

_I see your motives inside, decisions to hide_

_**Back off I'll take you on**_

_**Headstrong to take on anyone**_

_**I know that you are wrong**_

_**Headstrong we're Headstrong**_

_**Back off I'll take you on**_

_**Headstrong to take on anyone**_

_**I know that you are wrong and this is not where you belong**_

_**I can't give everything away**_

_**I won't give everything away**_

_I know, I know all about x3_

_I know, I know all about your motives inside, and your decision to hide_

_**Back off I'll take you on**_

_**Headstrong to take on anyone**_

_**I know that you are wrong**_

_**Headstrong we're Headstrong**_

_**Back off I'll take you on**_

_**Headstrong to take on anyone**_

_**I know that you are wrong and this is not where you belong**_

_**I can't give everything away**_

**_I won't give everything away_ **

"Commander, open up any com channel with _Devastator_ that hasn't been blocked." After punching a few keys, the commander nodded to signal that the Commissioner was on.

"Nemesis, this is Commissioner Hancock of the ZBC, disable your cloak and lower your shield or I'll be forced to fire!" The Commissioner wasn't stupid; Nemesis wouldn't let himself be found so easily unless he had a reason, and since ultra-3 had her guns pointed at _Devastator_, she would be able to defend herself if Nemesis tried to pull a fast one.

Three seconds after the commissioner sent his message, the music stopped, not because of his communications officers, but because it was cut off at the source. Two more seconds passed before…

"Sir we're being hailed by the unknown vessel!"

The Commissioner barked "ON SCREEN!"

The scene that met the Commissioner was surprising to say the least. For a whale king of that size, he had expected the bridge to be, well bigger than what he was seeing. The bridge of the _Devastator_ was shaped like a pentagon; the two back walls were covered in displays and raised slightly higher than the front half of the bridge. Each display was manned by people in what appeared to be tan combat suits that were decorated by red tiger stripes on their sides. A smooth, curving rail separated the middle part of the raised section, preventing people from falling into the commanders' chair. Placed very close to the screen on both the right and left sides were silver colored counsels that were manned by Red X and Silent warrior. The Red Baron, however, was manning what appeared to be a piloting station that was sunk into the floor. But what drew everyone's attention was the commanders' chair, situated about five feet behind the Red Baron, and looked like a chair ripped out of Star Trek, and sitting in it was no other than Nemesis.

It only took a second before his face broke out into a grin.

"Ah, Commissioner, I was hoping we would be able to meet one of these days…"

"Cut the kiss-ass, Nemesis, I told you to de-cloak and surrender now!"

The insults didn't even seem to faze Nemesis. Instead, he turned to a small cylinder standing next to his chair and said "Anubis?" Immediately, the god shaped hologram appeared and replied "Yes Master?"

Nemesis grinned as he looked back at the Commissioner. "Let's give our new friends the 'usual' welcome."

The Commissioner knew what the 'usual' greeting was among the backdraft, for it involved shooting at each other.

"ULTRA-3, SHEILDS UP NOW!"

Seconds later, a multi colored dome of protective energy enveloped the Ultrasaurus just as _Devastator_ began to de-cloaking like something out of Star Trek. The moment she fully de-cloaked, the guns on her back and left side turned to face the Ultrasaurus and fired. The shots impacted to little effect on the shield.

The Commissioner's second cleared his throat before speaking.

"Sir, Ulta-3 managed to launch a Pteras before activating her shield; I suggest that witness the battle from the Pteras' point of view sir."

"Do so" was the Commissioners only reply.

In a flash, the screen changed form the view behind the shield to that of the view from the Pteras. Many of the crewmen in the command center gasped as they saw how truly massive _Devastator_ was. As the Commissioner watched, _Devastators_ guns returned to their normal positions, and began _turning toward the_ _Ultrasaurus!_

The Radio crackled to life.

"Now Commissioner, a demonstration of _Devastators_ power." It was Nemesis

The Commissioner acted in a flash, grabbing the microphone in front of him, he bellowed "ULTRA-3, RETURN FIRE NOW!"

Ultra-3's shields dropped as her guns thundered and missile launchers screamed. The shots and missiles impacted the shield to little effect, other than the shield glowing a bright golden color were struck for a few moments before fading. As Ultra-3 continued to fire, the Commissioner watched the orange nose cap start to pull back, reviling the weapon concealed beneath it.

The Commissioner barked into the microphone "Cease fire, shields up!" The Ultrasaurus responded the instant the last shot was fired, reengaging the protective dome of energy. '_That should stop him_' the Commissioner thought with a grin. Unfortunately, the sound of Nemesis's voice coming over the radio ruined his good mood

"Our first demonstration, Commissioner, will be of a weapon known as a 'shield breaker' which was specifically designed to neutralize the most powerful shields, even those of the Ultrasaurus."

As the Commissioner watched, the muzzle of the gun started to glow orange, like the hybrid cannons when they charged up before firing. Moments later, the massive gun unleashed its destructive payload. The bolt of energy was huge, punching through the shield and shattering it like so many pieces of glass. The recoil from the gun was massive as well, causing the vessel to suddenly jump back.

"Sir! Ultra-3 reports massive overloads on all systems, her fire control circuits and shield emitters have been fried as well!"

The Commissioner shivered, not only was Ultra-3 without her greatest defense, but without use of her fire control circuits, she couldn't fight back as well.

"Now Commissioner, a true demonstration of _Devastators_ fire power!"

_Devastator_ turned, presenting her left side to Ultra-3. It was then that the Commissioner noticed that the guns on her left side had rotated until they were perpendicular to her hull. As he looked, he noticed something odd; starting at the nose, and slowly moving back, the armor was slowing changing color from the stealthy black to a flat steel grey.

"Corporal, magnify the surface of _Devastators_ armor now!"

A detailed image of _Devastators_ armored surface appeared just in time to see the armor plates begin to open up like doors; after fully opening they were pulled into slots to revel an uncountable number of tube like devices mounted in pairs. The Commissioner felt his blood run cold as the realization hit him; they weren't tubes, they were gun barrels! The guns rotated out of the side of the vessel to point at their target, the defenseless and vulnerable Ultrasaurus three.

Commissioner Hancock managed to mutter the command to pull the camera back, which did to show both the Ultrasaurus and _Devastator_ when Nemesis uttered five words that would haunt the commissioner till the day de died.

"Bridge to gunners: _Open Fire!_"

And with that, _Devastator_ unleashed living hell upon Ultra-3. To the Commissioner, _Devastator_ vanished as she unleashed wave after wav of bright yellow laser fire that was concentrated on the Ultrasaurus. Individually, the lasers were weak, but _Devastator_ made up for that in sheer quantity of lasers it threw at the Ultrasaurus. To those watching, it seemed as though night had become day and _Devastator_ was the new sun throwing thousands of beams at one target. The Commissioner was sure those in the command center had died went the first wave of lasers hit. Thirty seconds later, _Devastator_ added her 360mm guns to the mix, blowing off huge pieces and chunks of armor. The moment the shots hit, Ultra-3 let loose a scream that shook everybody to the core. In six minutes, _Devastator_ stopped firing, for there was nothing left of Ultra-3 worth blasting, not a piece of wreckage was left that was bigger than a man was tall.

The Commissioner fell back in his seat, pure terror flowing through his veins, how could one man unleash so much destruction? As the Commissioner fell into his seat, the screen reverted to that of _Devastators_ Bridge. Nemesis looked at the Commissioner with an icy gaze, showing no mercy.

To Korgoth, he said "Fire two missiles at that Pteras after I'm done speaking with the Commissioner."

Nemesis approached the screen, as if to try and fill the Command Ultrasaurus with his presence.

"I have some demands, Commissioner, and they will be met otherwise I will declare open season on civilians."

The Commissioner could tell by Nemesis's straight face that he was not joking, and with _Devastators_ capabilities, deifying him wouldn't be a wise idea.

"W-what are your d-demands?"

"First, you will disable the weapons on all your judge satellites and yes, even your super-satellite, for if even one blast hits _Devastator_, then I will carry out my threat. Two, when I take over a sanctioned battle you will not attempt to interfere in any way, shape or form. And three; don't even think about trying a bait-and-switch like you did with the Blitz and Champ teams, I'm not going to fall for it. Four, the zoid battle season will open as planed, there will be no delays of any sort or the consequences will be severe."

Nemesis turned as if to walk away, and then stopped mid-step and turned back to face the Commissioner.

"Two things I forgot to mention. First, as you probably noticed, _Devastator_ is not of the carrier classification that most whale kings are, instead, she's of a battleship class, so we're able to take anything you can throw at us. And lastly, that Genosaurer that remains in your Capital city facility, I want it out of there, give it to some team for all I care, just so long as your scientists don't have their grubby hands all over it, and it better be moving within 48 hours or else." And with that, the connection was cut, the Commissioner knew what consequences would be if he didn't cooperate with this mad man.

* * *

An hour later, the Commissioner somehow found his way down to his office in the depths of the Ultrasaurus. The only thing he had to be glad about was the fact that Nemesis didn't demand complete control of all zoid battles. He scanned the messages he had received over the day while he thought of how to break it to the world that there was a mad man on the loose who had enough firepower to burn Zi to a crisp. He paused, for he recognized an e-mail address as the one belonging to Dr. Layon. This got him thinking. Nemesis had said that he didn't want the _ZBC_ scientists to have access to the Genosaurer, and here, after reading the e-mail, Dr. Layon only wanted a core and body sample of the Genosaurer.

After making a few phone calls and the required arrangements, he leaned back in his chair and grinned. Dr. Layon was going to be in for a pleasant surprise.

* * *

(Puts ice pack to aching hands) This chapter took longer than I expected it to, oh well, Happy Holidays!

A very good christmas present would be for you to REVIEW THIS STORY!


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